One of my great ‘pet’ pieces of regimental research has been on the different styles and designs of the Drums and Colours of the Suffolk Regiment, and today, I’ve been trying to complete the art work for a Suffolk Regiment Drum emblazon from the 1950s.
As part of the Queens Platinum Jubilee in June, I have agreed to provide some drums for a Drum Head service in Suffolk. I have original drums from the 1st and 4th Battalions that I will be taking along, but in order to have a firm base (as the altar) I really need four drums as a minimum.
Normally, five snare drums would be placed in a circle as the base, with a bass drum on top. On top of this would be placed a tenor drum (slightly bigger than a snare, but not as big as a bass). Against this, the Regimental Colours would be placed.
I have managed to borrow another 4th Battalion drum from a friend, but I am now trying to reconstruct the artwork of another 1st Battalion drum. This would give me four and although I do not have a baas drum or a tenor drum, I think this will work out ok.
I’ve managed to piece together from several photographs taken of an original in the regimental museum, the emblazon of a drum of the period of 1953-1959, and with the miracles of technology, I have almost got the complete artwork to apply to it.
I have a spare drum that I can use to apply the emblazon to, but I now need to work out the exact spacing to paint the hoops in their distinctive red, yellow and black triangles. This may need a bit of thought, but I do like a challenge!
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